Texas woman kills 4-yr-old daughter, then shoots self dead after losing custody battle to ex-husband
A Texas mother allegedly killed her four-year-old daughter in an apparent murder-suicide, just hours after a court granted primary custody of the child to her father, who said she was “supposed to come home to him that evening”.Cibelle Savella, 35, was supposed to hand over her daughter, Vivian, to her ex-husband, Aaron Savella, on Tuesday evening. Instead, she fatally shot the child at their Houston home before turning the gun on herself, according to the Houston Police Department and family attorneys.Police were called to the residence at around 5:45pm and found Vivian dead and Cibelle with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on the third floor. She was taken to a hospital but died a day later, police said, the New York Post reported.In a statement released through his attorney Stefani Shapiro, Aaron’s family said Vivian was supposed to return home to her father that evening.“Our family is devastated. Vivian was four years old. She was loved without limit by her father, Aaron, and by everyone whose life she touched. There are no words for what has been taken from us,” the statement said.“Aaron did everything the law asks of a parent who is trying to protect his child. He trusted the courts. He followed every order. He waited for the process to work. On Tuesday, a judge placed Vivian in his primary care, and she was supposed to come home to him that evening. She never did,” it added.Cibelle’s new husband, restaurateur Greg Kubala, and a babysitter were inside the house when the shots were fired, according to police and local media reports. They are not believed to have been involved in the shootings, the NY Post reported.“There was a custody hearing earlier today that didn’t go well for the mother,” Houston Police Lieutenant Larry Crowson said after the incident.The statement also said that the stories of “fathers who fight quietly, patiently, and within the law to protect their children, their stories are rarely told.”Shapiro said Aaron had never alleged that Cibelle physically abused Vivian but believed the child was “potentially being emotionally abused”.Cibelle, who was originally from Brazil, divorced Aaron in November 2024 after four years of marriage. The couple subsequently became involved in a legal dispute over custody of their daughter.According to court documents cited by US media, Aaron was granted exclusive rights to make decisions about Vivian’s care. Cibelle was allowed to spend time with the child only under supervision by a Texas-based organisation.The court also imposed restrictions on Cibelle’s involvement in Vivian’s school activities and medical decisions. She was ordered to pay child support and contribute to half of her daughter’s out-of-pocket medical expenses.According to reports citing court filings, Cibelle was also restricted from speaking to Vivian in Portuguese unless a supervisor present during the visit was fluent in the language. It was not immediately clear why the court imposed the restrictions.The circumstances surrounding the shootings remain under investigation.
